


Do You Know The Muffin Man

by ddelusionall



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, JYJ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Baking, Gay Awakening, Homophobia, M/M, Meddling, Misunderstandings, Muffins, Yunho has the patience of a saint, implied Yoochun/Junsu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-13
Updated: 2012-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:47:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23897029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddelusionall/pseuds/ddelusionall
Summary: Jaejoong loves baking, and he's glad he has a way to earn a little bit of money because of it. They're pretty good, and that's the only reason why that one guy comes in every morning and buys four of them. The only reason.
Relationships: Jung Yunho (DBSK)/Kim Jaejoong
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Mixing the Ingredients

**Author's Note:**

> I am importing my stories from LiveJournal. The original fic can be found [here](http://be-ddelusionall.livejournal.com/).
> 
> I haven't read this story in a long time, so I may have missed some tags. Just let me know if I did.

“These muffins are so good.”

Jaejoong said thank you without looking up from the register. He handed the man his change and rang up the next customer.

“You know that guy likes you,” a different, deeper voice said.

“Huh?” Jaejoong said, looking up and into the face of one of his friends. “What, Chunnie?”

“That guy, that was in front of me, the tall heavenly piece of chocolate that you didn’t even look at. He likes you.”

“How do you know? It’s three-fifty.”

Yoochun stuck out his tongue and handed Jaejoong a debit card. “I remember when I used to eat your muffins for free. And he does because he’s in here every morning.”

“A lot of people are in here every morning.”

“And he tells you every day that he likes your muffins.”

“A lot of people tell me every day that they like my muffins.”

“You’re impossible.”

“And straight.”

“You could at least acknowledge him. His heart breaks a little more each day that you don’t do more than what you have to.”

Jaejoong rolled his eyes and shoved Yoochun away from his cash register to ring up the next person. Yoochun jabbed his finger into Jaejoong’s side before leaving for his first class.

Jaejoong sighed and continued helping people. His muffins were gone before nine am. He wondered if he should make three batches for his next shift.

“Ooh, are these a new flavor?” A large hand snagged a muffin from the basket before Jaejoong even had it full.

He lifted his head and glared at the guy for not being patient. “They are raspberry.”

“Oh my god,” the guy moaned, just smelling the unwrapped muffin. “Heavenly.” He took a bite and moaned again.

Jaejoong said, “You have to pay for that first.”

“Sorry,” the guy said and winked. “I don’t like waiting for what I want.”

Jaejoong mentally reminded himself that rolling his eyes was not good customer service. The man bought four muffins.

“One for each class, although I’ll probably have them all eaten before I get out the door. I love your muffins.”

“Thank you. I like making them.”

The man finished his first muffin before giving Jaejoong his credit card to pay. “You should open a bakery.”

“Maybe.” A lot of people said that to him.

The man pouted, but the next customer was waiting impatiently behind him and he muttered a see you tomorrow and left the small café.

Jaejoong frowned at him, wondering if he had been rude.

A week later, Jaejoong realized that same guy was always his first customer, followed closely by Yoochun, on the days his friend had class anyway.

One day, Yoochun said, “He doesn’t have class until eleven, and yet he wakes up every morning at this ungodly hour just to see you and have a muffin.”

“And?”

“Do you know his name?”

“No, should I?”

“I take it back. You shouldn’t own your own bakery. Your interpersonal skills suck. You would never be able to build up a steady stream of clientele. I don’t see what this guy sees in you. Try smiling once in a while, okay?”

Jaejoong pouted the rest of the day. Yoochun wasn’t usually harsh like that. He knew that Jaejoong had problems opening up to people.

His other friend Junsu said, “You work in a place where you don’t have to be close to people just because you say hi to them. You should take advantage of that and try.”

Jaejoong wasn’t sure, but he promised Junsu that he would try. That night he was too nervous to sleep and made five batches of muffins before exhaustion made him collapse at close to two.

In the morning, there wasn’t enough space on the counter that Jaejoong had been given to sell his muffins, and he did his best to make a pyramid of them.

“You might as well leave four or five of those out for me,” a familiar voice said behind him.

Jaejoong jumped and he spun around and his elbow hit the tower and muffins fell to the floor.

“Sorry,” the man said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Jaejoong opened his mouth, shut it, blushed and ducked down to pick up the muffins. The man was there a moment later to help him. He held one up, and raised an eyebrow at Jaejoong.

“L-lemon,” Jaejoong said, “with blueberries.”

“Oh wow. This one is mine.”

“It’s all smashed.”

“It’ll still taste delicious.”

Jaejoong bit his lip and they finished gathering the muffins up in silence. By the time they were done, there were other people in the store.

“Which is your favorite?” Jaejoong asked after the man had gotten his coffee and picked out another three muffins.

“Blueberry,” he said right away, “with the crumble on top, but I’ll let you know tomorrow after I have this lemon one.” He winked.

Jaejoong automatically looked down, and then remembered to look up and smiled shyly and said, “Thank you.”

The man’s face lit up with the most beautiful smile and Jaejoong’s heart skipped and the man behind the muffin man cleared his throat, and he winked again and left the café.

When Yoochun staggered in just after eleven, Jaejoong handed him a muffin from under the counter and said, “You better be happy I saved you this one. That’s fifty more cents I could have had.”

Yoochun rolled his eyes, waved his hand in dismissal, and then took a huge bite of the muffin as he left the café without saying anything else.

Jaejoong didn’t mind. He wiped down the counters and hummed happily until one and he could close the café and head to his own classes.

Jaejoong had started making at least three batches of muffins every day for the café. A total of almost forty muffins, and sold them at fifty cents each. He usually averaged about fifteen dollars a day, and for five days that was seventy five extra dollars a week. His boss noticed though, and with a heavy sigh, Jaejoong changed the chalkboard sign to seventy-five cents each.

Jaejoong made two batches of blueberry muffins with crumble on top and one batch of strawberry muffins. He set a blueberry one aside for Yoochun, and continued with opening procedures like making coffee and arranging the bagels that never sold until Jaejoong’s muffins were gone.

“Seventy five cents!” a familiar voice proclaimed.

Jaejoong bit his lower lip as he turned and faced the muffin man. He shrugged, and said, “Yeah, my boss has decided that he gets a cut, so …”

The man’s face fell and he pouted and Jaejoong figured that if he wasn’t in his twenties he would have stamped his foot. “I only brought two dollars in cash; I lost my wallet over the weekend, and I—damn it.”

Jaejoong chuckled as he went over to the register. “You can have four, just don’t tell anyone.”

“No, I’ll feel bad.”

“Then you can pay me for them tomorrow, but don’t worry about it.” Jaejoong held out three of the blueberry muffins and one that had a pink tinge to it. “I experimented with strawberry. Here.”

The man unwrapped the muffin and took a bite, eyes shutting in pure bliss. “Damn, you’re a baking genius. Delicious.”

“I’m starting to think you might be biased.”

The man smile widely and then gave Jaejoong his two dollars. “Thank you, beautiful. See you tomorrow.”

Jaejoong swallowed, fighting his blush at the endearment that the man didn’t seem to realize he said. Jaejoong followed him out with his eyes and then faced his next customer.

“I thought you were straight,” Yoochun said.

“Shut up. He’s nice. And I am straight.”

Yoochun smiled and shook his head, “Dare I bring up the case of Shim Changmin?”

“Shut up. We were young.”

“You were seventeen, and head over heels.”

“He liked my food. Shut up.”

“Yunho likes your food too.”

“Who?”

Yoochun stared blankly at him for a moment and then laughed. “Yunho. Your muffin man.”

Jaejoong turned his head unconsciously to look out in the hall. “His name is Yunho?”

“Jung Yunho, actually.”

Jaejoong snapped his head back around to positively glare at his best friend. “That’s Jung Yunho!”

Jung Yunho was a name almost everyone at their college knew. Student body president, politics major, intern at the capitol. His father owned part of the school through investments, and the entire family was a team of well respected prosecutors.

Yoochun smirked. “Yes. That is Jung Yunho. Seriously. You need to climb out of your little box and see the world, my friend.”

Jung Yunho liked his muffins. A little part of Jaejoong died, and he spent the rest of the day freaking himself out.

It was almost one and Jaejoong was on his way to the back to grab his keys to lock the door when it opened. He audibly sighed before turning around. It had been a rough day.

Yunho stood behind him, smiling.

“H-hey,” Jaejoong said.

“I know you’re closing, but I thought I’d see what you were doing now.”

“Huh?”

Yunho rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you have class, or can I … I want to … come to lunch with me? Please?”

Jaejoong froze, eyes wide, unable to comprehend the fact that Jung Yunho just asked him out.

“Did you just ask me out?”

“Yes. Maybe, unless you say no, then I wasn’t here and I’m just a figment of your imagination.”

Jaejoong laughed, hand covering his mouth. Yunho relaxed and smiled back.

The words _I’m straight_ were on the tip of his tongue, but Jaejoong didn’t want to crush the man’s heart, nor did he want to lead him on, but it was just lunch, right?

“Give me fifteen minutes. Let me lock up and I’ll meet you out in the courtyard.”

Yunho’s perfect smile widened, and Jaejoong’s head went light, and he turned around and went in the back and leaned against the wall and tried to control his breathing.

“What are you doing with him?” Yoochun asked one morning after Yunho had gotten his muffins and left the café.

Jaejoong refused to meet his eyes and said nothing.

“Didn’t you tell me a week ago that you’re straight?”

“I am.”

“But you’ve gone out to lunch with him three times this week and if I heard right, he’s taking you to dinner tonight?”

Jaejoong winced. “I – I –“

“If you had told him you were straight, then you could probably still be friends, but he is so falling in love with you, and you’re just leading him on.”

“I am not!”

Yoochun gave him a look and then said, “Yes, you are. He’s a nice guy, Jaejoong. Don’t mess with him like this. If you’re going to continue living in denial, then that’s fine, go ahead, but you need to tell him you’re straight now, or—“

“You’re what?”

Jaejoong’s breath caught as he spun around to look at the broken-hearted face of one Jung Yunho.

“Oh, well, never mind,” Yoochun said. “I was going to say that I was going to tell him, but … I guess I’ll just leave.”

Jaejoong barely noticed when his best friend left, and then Yunho schooled his features, shrugged and said, “It did seem a bit too good to be true. You’d think I’d be more—“

“Don’t, Yunho, please. I …”

Yunho shook his head. “Better I find out now than when I try to kiss you.”

The thought of Yunho’s lips pressed against his twisted Jaejoong’s stomach in a very non-disgusted sort of way, and his cheeks flushed, and then Yunho said good bye and left the café.

Jaejoong covered his face with his hands and bemoaned his luck.

Yunho didn’t come back to the café, and Jaejoong cut down on the amount of muffins he made everyday.

“Why don’t you just be honest with yourself and let yourself like him?” Yoochun demanded.

“Yeah,” Junsu said from his other side. “You’re being pissy and moody like you’ve just broken up with someone.”

Jaejoong leaned his elbows on the table and muttered, “Why did I think it was a good idea to invite you both here at the same time?”

“Because we’re your friends, and we love you, but we are both going to tell you how stupid you’re being.”

“I don’t know why you’re torturing yourself like this,” Yoochun said. “Last week all I heard about was Yunho this and Yunho that.”

“Same here. It is okay to be bisexual, you know,” Junsu cut in. “It’s pretty awesome being able to go both ways and not have something as annoying as gender get in your way of getting laid.”

“Are you bisexual?” Yoochun asked with interest.

Junsu smiled. “Yes.”

“Really? That is interesting. Isn’t that interesting, Jaejoong?”

“Oh my god, I hate you both,” Jaejoong said as they made _I’m thinking of eating out your ass_ eyes at each other. He stood, gathered his bag and stuck his tongue out at his two friends and then left the cafeteria to head home.

Jaejoong made an extra pan of blueberry crumble muffins. He dug in his closet for an old basket, cleaned off the dust and arranged the muffins carefully before wrapping it all in plastic. He arrived earlier than normal and headed to the political office building where Yunho said he worked with one of his teachers through his internship.

Part of him hoped that no one was in the office and part of him hoped that Yunho would be there. The door was open, but it wasn’t Yunho at the desk. A man who may have been in his thirties, but could pass for twenty peered at a computer screen frowning.

Jaejoong knocked and excused himself and asked if Yunho was here.

“Nope,” the man said. “He won’t be here for another hour or so. Can I help you?”

Jaejoong kept his eyes to the ground and stammered, “W-will you … I … brought …” He huffed and held up the basket of muffins.

“Oh, you’re the muffin man,” the guy said and smiled.

Jaejoong blinked in surprise because that’s what he had called Yunho before finding out his name.

“Those are for Yunho,” the man prompted and Jaejoong quickly placed them on his desk.

“Yes, and for you, if … well, I don’t … yeah.”

“Yunho won’t share them with me. He never has.”

“He can’t eat a dozen of them by himself.”

The man chuckled. “Yes, he can. He loves your muffins.”

“Please tell him I stopped by,” Jaejoong said, feeling his cheeks flush. “I have to get the café open.”

The man tilted his head and said, “I was under the impression that he stopped by every morning.”

“Yes, well … I … not lately, and … we had a sort of falling out and he … yeah. Have a good day,” Jaejoong muttered and quickly left the room.

Jaejoong had a sinking sense of déjà vu when he headed to the back to get his keys to lock up and the door opened. He turned around, and the feeling grew in intensity when he found himself facing Yunho.

The only thing that kept Jaejoong from thinking this was the same moment, replayed, was the frown on Yunho’s face and the harshness in his eyes. He’d never seen Yunho look angry before.

“What?”

Jaejoong didn’t know what to say. He had a feeling that this Yunho was the Yunho he’d have to face if he was being prosecuted and he so did not ever want to do that.

“Heechul said you wanted to talk to me. What?”

Heechul? Oh, the guy in the office.

“I never …” Jaejoong cursed and looked away. “It seems like you have meddling friends as well. I didn’t say that. I just …”

“So you don’t want to see me?”

“No, I mean, yes, I mean.”

Yunho scoffed and turned around.

“Please don’t go, I’m sorry, please.”

“You’re going to have a few more customers tomorrow so you might want to make extra muffins.”

“Huh?”

“Everyone that managed to get a muffin today is coming to buy one tomorrow.”

“Will you be here tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Then maybe I won’t make any muffins.”

“Jaejoong.”

“I’m sorry,” Jaejoong said. “That’s what I wanted to tell you with those muffins, and I’m sorry that—“

“Me, too.”

Jaejoong almost cried when the door shut behind him.

“What do you mean you don’t have any muffins?”

Jaejoong winced and apologized and muttered something about not having time to make them the night before.

“I call bullshit.”

Jaejoong lifted his head at the harsh tone and came face to face with the man he’d spoken to yesterday. Heechul.

“So?” Jaejoong said. “No muffins. They’re not a regular menu item anyway.”

Heechul narrowed his eyes at him and said, “Your business savvy sucks.”

“Good thing I’m majoring in music then, isn’t it?”

“I want a muffin.”

“I don’t have any muffins.”

“Will you have some tomorrow?”

“I don’t know. Ask Yunho.”

“You two are stupid. Fuck you both.” Heechul bought a bagel and two coffees and Jaejoong tried not to think of who the second coffee was for.

A few minutes later when Yoochun and Junsu sauntered in, joined at the hip, Jaejoong once again almost burst into tears, just barely catching the sob in the back of his throat. He knew he hadn’t fooled either of his friends, but they were wise and didn’t mention the lack of muffins or the redness around Jaejoong’s eyes.

After the third day of no muffins, Jaejoong noticed a definite drop in customers. He felt very guilty, because even if people were buying his muffins, they were also buying coffee or hot chocolate or bottle juices, and that meant sales of the café were down.

“Will there be muffins tomorrow?” a random customer asked, voice hopeful.

Jaejoong knew that he couldn’t disappoint everyone anymore and he nodded. “Yeah, I’ll make some.”

“Really? The chocolate chip ones?”

“Sure.”

“Fantastic. Thanks.”

Jaejoong sighed.

That night he made another extra dozen of blueberry muffins, and then left them outside of Heechul’s office in the morning. The return of the muffins in the café proved to be a great idea and Jaejoong sold out of them really quickly.

But each time the door opened and it wasn’t Yunho, Jaejoong’s smile fell a little and his heart hurt a little more.


	2. Stirring the Batter

“Stop giving away your product,” Heechul said on Monday of the next week when Jaejoong stopped by with another basket for the political science department. “We’ll come and buy them from you.”

“You will or he will?”

Heechul steepled his fingers and glared at Jaejoong. “You’re messing with his emotions, you know.”

“I’m messing with my own. I miss him.”

Heechul rolled his eyes and then motioned for the muffins. “Fine. I’ll tell him to go see you, okay?”

“Only if he wants to,” Jaejoong said quickly.

“Trust me. He wants to.”

Later that day, Jaejoong waited in the courtyard outside the closed café until almost two p.m. He couldn’t afford to wait longer; he had to go to the store and buy more flour and sugar.

With a sigh, he stood up, put in earbuds and headed for his car. He thought about Yunho, not about the man who fawned over his muffins, but the man who had taken him to lunch, and smiled at him, and laughed with him. He thought of the man whose eyes had been so sad and whose heart he’d broken because he hadn’t been honest with him.

And he thought of himself, and thought of trying to be honest with himself.

Yunho was a very attractive man. Jaejoong knew that. Hopeful gazes from females and admiring gazes from males followed him wherever he went.

He thought of himself with Yunho, inseparable in the way Yoochun and Junsu were currently joined. It made him smile. He wanted to hold Yunho’s hand and put his arm around his waist and be close to him.

In the middle of the store, Jaejoong stopped and shut his eyes and wondered what it would be like to kiss him. A touch of lips? A physical request for permission? Or would Yunho not wait for him to say yes, and devour his lips and chew on them while his hands mapped out—

Jaejoong shook himself forcefully and finished grocery shopping.

Jaejoong experimented again with new flavors and made cinnamon raisin muffins with a vanilla glaze. He only made half a batch of those, and put them aside, hoping Yunho would come in to test them. For the regular customers he made his standard blueberry muffins, and chocolate chip muffins.

The day flew by without Yunho, and Jaejoong sighed in disappointment.

Close to closing, Yoochun showed up and said, “Yunho is in his office studying for a midterm he has tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“Just okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you going to go see him?”

“He’s studying.”

“So. He’ll need a break.”

Jaejoong sighed.

Yoochun frowned. “Talk to me, Jae. Come on.”

Jaejoong crossed his arms and muttered, “I may have … jerked off … in the shower and …”

Yoochun laughed. “Nice.”

“Fuck you,” Jaejoong said and buried his face in his hands.

Yoochun hugged him and said, “It’s okay, Jaejoong. Take a couple days, figure yourself out.”

Jaejoong shook his head. “I already have. I just … I like him so much, but I don’t … can’t tell if it’s .. I really really want to know what it feels like to kiss him.”

Yoochun chuckled into his ear and rubbed his back. “Good. Close your store, and get over there.”

Jaejoong nodded. “I will. How’s Junsu? I haven’t seen him today?”

Yoochun smirked. “Junsu is a very bad boy, and he’s a little tied up right now.”

“Oh god, I do not want to hear about it.”

Yoochun laughed, slapped his shoulder as a goodbye and left Jaejoong to close.

And Jaejoong just might have closed a few minutes early. For no reason. Really.

With sweaty palms and shaking more than he thought, Jaejoong made his way across campus. The box of cinnamon raisin muffins was in his hands.

The door to the office was cracked open, and Jaejoong thought about putting the muffins by the door and bailing, but he couldn’t. He wanted to see Yunho, to see if what he felt in his dreams with his eyes closed was the same as what he felt when Yunho was right in front of him.

He knocked lightly and pushed the door open before Yunho could tell him to come in.

“What do—oh.”

Jaejoong swallowed, bit his lower lip and muttered a hello. He couldn’t even lift his head and just stood there, with the box in his hands and waited.

“Well, what?” Yunho asked, voice harsh.

Jaejoong had to swallow again and he set the box down. “New … I … experiment.”

“Oh.”

Jaejoong nibbled on his lower lip and twisted his hands. He heard movement, but didn’t look up until Yunho was in front of him, lifting his chin with his fingers. Jaejoong met his eyes and knew he looked scared, but he wasn’t, but he was, but oh my god had Yunho’s eyes always been so beautifully dark?

“What do you want?” Yunho whispered, no longer angry, but honestly curious and a little awed by the look in Jaejoong’s eyes.

“I-I don’t know.”

Yunho frowned and released him. He stepped away and the tension around Jaejoong drained and he didn’t like that at all. Yunho wired him up and if he was going to relax, it was going to be Yunho who did it.

“I do know. I just … don’t know how to ask for it, and I don’t think you’ll want to and I … I don’t know, Yunho. I’m confused and …”

Yunho sat on the edge of the desk and pulled out a muffin. He inhaled and smiled. “Cinnamon.”

“With raisins.”

“And a glaze. You haven’t done a glaze before.” Yunho unwrapped the muffin and took a bite. White flecks of glaze stuck to his lips. He moaned and took another bite and then another, and sucked each one of his fingertips clean.

Jaejoong watched his mouth in fascination. His tongue and his lips and then Yunho licked his lips and Jaejoong whimpered.

Yunho’s eyes shot to his and Jaejoong froze, blushing and confused, and he looked down.

“Those are really good,” Yunho said.

Jaejoong wanted to say thank you, but the lump in his throat wouldn’t let him say anything.

“One of these days I want one of these muffins fresh from the oven. I bet they’re divine.”

Jaejoong smiled and without looking up said, “They are pretty good.”

“Will you let me?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Tonight?”

“I have a final tomorrow.”

“Oh, um, tomorrow night then.”

“You want me to come over to your apartment?”

Jaejoong nodded. “Yes. Please.”

Yunho rose and moved in front of him and once again used his fingers to lift Jaejoong’s chin. He searched Jaejoong’s eyes and Jaejoong did his best not to shut them, but Yunho was so close and Jaejoong could feel his body heat and just a few more inches and they’d be kissing, and oh god, Jaejoong wanted to kiss him.

“Okay.”

It took Jaejoong longer than normal to write down his address and phone number, and he was blushing like crazy when he said good bye to Yunho and left him to his studies.

Jaejoong was a mess of nerves all the next day. Yunho’s final ended at three, and at ten after, Jaejoong received a text from him saying he was on his way.

Jaejoong frantically ran around his apartment, straightening couch cushions that had already been straightened and looking for errant dust or a pair of socks or a jacket or anything else to clean. He stood in the middle of his living room, a throw pillow clutched against his chest and willed his heart to beat.

The doorbell rang, and Jaejoong jumped in surprise and hurried over, flinging the door open.

Yunho smiled at him, but it was a cautious smile and Jaejoong stared for longer than was appropriate before moving aside and welcoming him in a quiet voice. Yunho entered and took off his shoes.

He was in a pair of jeans, a blue button down, and his hair was styled nicely. Jaejoong felt a little plain in his white t-shirt and ripped up jeans. He hadn’t even thought of dressing up.

“So this is where the magic happens,” Yunho said walking through the room. “It smells so good in here.”

Jaejoong blushed. “I’m not even baking anything yet.”

“The smell is probably permeated into your furniture, sort of like cigarette smoke, but way better.”

Jaejoong’s blush deepened.

“And you’re not baking yet? Oh man. After that econ final, I really need a muffin.”

“W-what kind?”

“Blueberry, of course.”

“Okay.”

Jaejoong shuffled around Yunho, tried not to squeak when Yunho’s hand brushed his arm, and led the way into his kitchen.

“Can I help you?”

Jaejoong swallowed, and said sure. He set the oven to preheat at 375, and then pulled out two bowls. In the larger one, Jaejoong directed Yunho to whisk together sugar and eggs, and then added milk, oil, and a bit of vanilla extract. While Yunho followed his instructions, in a smaller bowl, Jaejoong carefully measured flour, baking powder and salt and mixed it all together.

“Why do you do them separately, instead of in one bowl?” Yunho asked.

Jaejoong dumped the flour mixture into Yunho’s bowl and Yunho stirred it together. “Strange as it sounds, it makes the batter smoother and fluffier,” Jaejoong answered. “It also makes sure that the dry ingredients are evenly blended with the wet.” He opened his fridge for the carton of blueberries.

He stopped Yunho’s stirring when the batter was smooth, and then reached up for muffin cups. He handed them to Yunho and told him to put them in the muffin tray. Carefully, Jaejoong used a rubber spatula and folded in a little more than ½ a cup of blueberries. He and Yunho used big spoons to transfer the batter to the muffin cups, and then Jaejoong used the spatula to top off each one until the batter was gone.

“Wow,” Yunho said. “It’s like art.”

Jaejoong smiled and tried not to blush. “You know how the tops are cracked a little?”

“Yeah.”

“Here’s the secret.” Jaejoong took a small scoop and dipped it into the sugar. He sprinkled a pretty even amount of sugar across the tops of the muffins.

“Sugar? That’s it?”

“Yep.”

“Again, wow.”

Jaejoong put the muffins into the heated oven and set the timer for twenty-three minutes. “Now, normally, I’d start a new batch of a different kind while these cooked, but I don’t have to have muffins made until Sunday, so I’m going to clean up really fast and you can—”

“I’ll help you,” Yunho said and went to the sink to start the water.

Jaejoong bit his lower lip against a smile. Yoochun would probably be picking his jaw up off the floor right now because Jaejoong hated it when other people were in his kitchen.

“Do you want some real food? Non-sweet kind?”

Yunho smiled at him. “Maybe later. I’d rather fill up on muffins.”

Jaejoong frowned. “That’s not good for you.”

“I know, but have you tasted your muffins?”

Jaejoong blushed. They finished washing the dishes and wiping down the counters in only ten minutes, and Jaejoong didn’t know what to do next.

“May I ask why you invited me here?” Yunho whispered, closer than Jaejoong thought he was. “And don’t say for muffins.”

When Jaejoong didn’t look up nor do anything more than bite his lower lip, Yunho sidled up next to him, and then twisted in front of him, hands on the counter, boxing Jaejoong in.

“I really like you,” Yunho said, “but I don’t want to pressure you, but I can’t tell what I can or can’t do, and you’re not making this easy for me.”

“Oh, and you’re making it easy for me?” Jaejoong snapped back, eyes lifting to glare at Yunho.

Yunho looked entirely too amused with the situation. “Yes. I am. I’m letting you know that I like you, that I want to kiss you and touch you and make time disappear. Well, until the oven beeps, then I’m going to forget about you while I eat muffins.”

Jaejoong’s blush deepened and he lifted his hands to push Yunho away, but as soon as they connected with Yunho’s strong chest, Jaejoong’s resolve broke and he left his hands there, not gripping or moving, just there, on Yunho’s body. It’d been years since his last and only tryst with a guy and he had forgotten how good it felt to have muscles under his hands, a tall body arched over his.

So Jaejoong did what he normally did when he was nervous. He babbled. “I thought that the mess with Changmin meant I was straight, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you or wondering what it would be like to kiss you and I’m so afraid to find out. I’m afraid of what my family would say, or what your family would say, and I’m supposed to carry our family line, and I’m so afraid that I’m going to like it, and I don’t even know if I want to like it or not, I can’t like it, I shouldn’t like it, but I know that I will, because you’re so handsome and tall and already successful and oh my god you smell good--”

Yunho covered Jaejoong mouth with his hand, eyes dancing and twinkling with his smile.

Jaejoong blushed and ducked his head and Yunho moved his hand, trailing fingers down Jaejoong’s neck.

Jaejoong shivered, tipping his head to the side and his eyes fluttered shut and his breath left him in a shaky whimper.

“May I kiss you?” Yunho asked.

“Please, oh, please, I …”

Yunho cupped his cheeks and tilted his head up and Jaejoong whimpered again when warm lips pressed against his. Yunho turned his head a little, molding their lips together, holding the soft kiss until Jaejoong feared he was going to pass out.

“Okay?” Yunho asked.

Jaejoong inhaled deeply and nodded, unable to talk.

Yunho smiled and kissed him again. Yunho’s hands slid down his shoulders and wound around his waist, pulling their bodies together. Jaejoong’s kept his hands on his chest, curled into his embrace and finally had the mental capacity to kiss Yunho back, and open his mouth in a not-so-subtle invitation.

Yunho moaned and took it, sliding his tongue deeply into Jaejoong’s mouth, sucking in his lips and nibbling on them alternately. Jaejoong whimpered, fingers clenching the muscles under his hands. The kiss went on for longer than Jaejoong thought possible, for longer than he’d ever remembered kissing someone. Yunho pulled away, only long enough to lick his lips, or take a breath, and then they were kissing again, exploring the other with shaking tongues. Jaejoong’s head was light, his body on edge.

“Kissing you is better than anything,” Jaejoong whispered, their mouths open, lips barely touching.

The oven beeped, and Jaejoong moaned in disappointment when Yunho pulled away.

Yunho chuckled. “Would you be incredibly insulted if I said I wanted muffins more than another kiss?”

Jaejoong pouted and pushed him away while Yunho laughed. Frowning and blushing, Jaejoong found a hot pad and took the muffins out of the oven. He put the pan on the stove and then reached for the cooling rack that was on top of the fridge. A firm body pressed against his, pushing him to the appliance, and lips landed on his neck. Yunho easily took the rack down, and set it on the counter.

“They have to cool for a little while, right?” Yunho whispered into the space below his ear.

Jaejoong shivered and nodded.

Firm hands gripped his hips and spun him around. Yunho pinned him to the fridge with a muscled leg. The world tilted when their lips met again and Jaejoong flung his arms around Yunho’s neck and held on while Yunho kissed his breath away.

Jaejoong tilted his head back and inhaled deeply.

“I was kidding when I said I wanted a muffin more than a kiss,” Yunho whispered. “The first time I went in that café, you weren’t even selling muffins. I went in because I saw you and fell in love with the most beautiful person I’d ever seen.”

Jaejoong shut his eyes and shook his head. “Liar. I’m not beautiful.”

“You are. Beyond beautiful.”

Jaejoong bit his lip, blushing and tugged at the hem of his t-shirt.

“Yes, even like this. Those jeans are painted onto your legs and that shirt is so thin I can almost see your nipples.” Yunho’s hand rose, fingers catching on the shirt, baring his abs. Jaejoong inhaled sharply, muscles tensing as Yunho danced his fingers up and down his stomach.

“I want to convince you of my sincerity. You really are attractive. Will you let me kiss every inch of you that I think is beautiful?” His finger swirled around his belly button, and then along the top of his jeans.

Jaejoong swallowed. “M-maybe?”

“It might take me a while though,” he added, “kissing all that skin. I’m definitely going to need energy for that, and energy requires food and as delicious as your mouth tastes, all I can smell is blueberry muffins.”

Jaejoong smiled and didn’t protest when Yunho kissed him softly again, lips together, open again and again. His hands splayed over Jaejoong’s sides, under his shirt, fingers rubbing softly.

“You came over for hot muffins,” Jaejoong said, letting his own hands venture under the back of Yunho’s shirt. “They’ll cool down before you’re done kissing me.”

“You’ll make me more.”

“Yah! I am not your personal muffin chef,” Jaejoong said and pushed Yunho away from him.

Yunho smiled, giddy and happy, and it made Jaejoong’s heart clench. Yunho was so cute. Without really thinking about it, Jaejoong hooked his hand on the back of Yunho’s neck and pulled him close again for another kiss.

“I’ll make you more, and I’ll make you dinner tonight,” Jaejoong said against his lips.

With a smile, Yunho asked, “Will you make me breakfast in the morning?”

Jaejoong froze, eyes wide, lips wet from the kiss, thinking of waking up, all wrapped up in Yunho’s strong arms. Naked, maybe not. Oh god. Jaejoong whimpered, trying not to think about Yunho’s warm skin hovering over his naked body.

Yunho frowned, and opened his mouth, probably to apologize for the comment, but Jaejoong shook his head and kissed him again before asking, “What kind of muffins do you want for breakfast?”


End file.
